EarlyLife Crisis
by Canadino
Summary: When a relationship dies, another is born. 1827, 6984 with character death


**Disclaimer: If Katekyo Hitman Reborn were mine, I wouldn't need to write fanfics. If any of these songs were mine, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.**

Background music: Untouched - The Veronicas/Cold(But I'm Still Here) - Evans Blue

**Minimal fluff 09!**

---

Gokudera really didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. But they had debated the issue and had even drawn lots. It was truly fate that would curse one of them to destroy someone's life. He took a deep breath and braced himself as he knocked on the Tenth Generation's door.

Tsuna still looked so young and innocent even as a twenty-something year old. Staring up at his "right hand man" with wide bright eyes, he smiled. "What's wrong, Gokudera?"

If he could just pause in the moment, he would. In fact, if he could, Gokudera would cut out this moment in time and live in it forever if it meant that Tsuna would still be happy. But seconds passed into minutes and Tsuna was starting to pick up the unfortunate vibe. "What happened?" There was a hint of caution. Gokudera took another deep breath, which was now becoming a bit difficult to take such deep breaths. Damn cigarettes. It would be just like ripping a band aid off a fresh wound. He just had to get it over with.

"We just received information that…" Another harsh deep breath. "Hibari Kyouya was killed."

There was a silent beat. The world had stopped. Gokudera was expecting a reaction; after all, there were rumors (unsavory rumors, really) surrounding the "platonic" relationship between the Tenth and Hibari. When there was no reaction, Gokudera wondered if Yamamoto's stupid insistence that the two were in item were (as usual) stupid lies.

"When did this happen?" There was a hint of coolness that was reminiscent of the dead man and Gokudera nearly stepped back. "Well…you know he was always elusive…at first Kusakabe didn't even know but after weeks with no contact, he went looking for him…and…well…he found him."

"How long ago do they think he was killed?"

"About a few weeks. He had been fighting in some sort of alley with some thugs still surviving from the resistance and I guess they surprised him or something. They were fighting and…"

"They killed him?"

"Of course not. This is Hibari we're talking about. He defeated them easily. Then…you know…he just sort of stands there afterwards over the corpses in some sort of victorious rush…and then…" How embarrassing. The infamous Hibari Kyouya, "he was brought down by an assassin's bullet. Someone had been hiding a distance away. He didn't see it coming."

There was a pause and Tsuna looked grieved, certainly an expected reaction from one who was expecting all of his familia to survive with him. "Thank you. You may go."

Gokudera lingered in the room, waiting for more of a reaction. This was much too impersonal and indifferent; surely this wasn't really what Tsuna was feeling? Stepping forward, Gokudera opened his mouth to say something but Tsuna beat him to the punch. "You may go," Tsuna repeated, this time louder and much more forceful than Gokudera had expected.

"Alright." Pausing at the door, Gokudera turned briefly. "I'm sorry for your loss, Tenth." With that, he turned the closed the oak door behind him, taking another breath. Perhaps he had underestimated the Tenth. Perhaps he had grown and matured and gone past expressing his true feelings. It was an important part in being a mafiaoso. And to be the Head of a family and have changed this much…yes, this was why he was under the Vongola family.

When Gokudera left, Tsuna closed the file he was reading and put his face in his hands. When he finally removed them, he was barely surprised that they were wet.

--

Basil had noticed it all before everyone else had. After all, he, like Reborn, had trained with Tsuna enough to be able to read the boss's thoughts even before they were formed. When they were practicing years ago, Tsuna had worried one day that Hibari would be defeated by the Varia during the scuffle for the rings. He had been utterly distracted that day and confessed after the practice that he had had a dream and he was worried about it.

Personally, Basil didn't know why Tsuna was always in such denial. Surely if you were afraid of someone, you wouldn't be worrying about them to the point that you would be dreaming about them. Nor would you spend the whole day fretting about them, while hiding behind the alibi that he had a crush on Kyoko-chan. Basil was pretty sure that Kyoko had known back then as well but was always holding on to a hope; after all, she had genuinely liked him but he had never realized it.

So the denial lasted for a couple of years, with Basil and Reborn staying silent about the whole ordeal while everyone else went about their business as usual. He had almost forgotten about everything when Basil stepped into Tsuna's office without knocking once and caught them much too close for comfort – not to mention Hibari was doing more than 'biting' him. Quickly excusing himself, Basil scurried away; where to didn't matter, as long as he wasn't caught at the scene of the crime.

Basil was left with conflicting feelings, but they weren't caused due to unrequited feelings for either of them; gods forbid – he respected Tsuna as a boss too much to let personal feelings get involved and quite frankly, Hibari was too solitary for his liking, not to mention the prefect had been partial to Tsuna from the beginning as well.

It was just…would he be able to having something like that? Not only was Hibari and Tsuna having something on side, but Gokudera and Yamamoto had been flitting between the friends and lovers line. However with the latter, they had agreed not to start anything in case anything happened to the other – a wise choice, but fate still found them skirting from potentially uncomfortable moments. Restraint was definitely not healthy at all.

But then Hibari and Tsuna proceeded without boundaries and look where that got them. The anguish in the base was almost tangible. Basil hid back in the shadows.

--

Kusakabe came by a few days later. Tsuna was signing some confidential documents and the pompadour man stepped in with a brief knock.

"It might interest you…the things we found on the late prefect." Kusakabe could never shake the habit of calling Hibari 'prefect' and it hadn't bothered anyone. Recently, hearing this title made Tsuna shudder inwardly and he looked up after a split pause. With an awkward nod, Kusakabe emptied his arms on the desk, covering it with a pair of tonfa, the Cloud ring, a few box weapons, and an obsidian ring. Almost snatching the black ring like a beggar snatching food, Tsuna pocketed the ring with a swift motion, clearing his throat sheepishly. Kusakabe shrugged. He hadn't discussed with Hibari; the Cloud Guardian had never left instructions for after his passing – he never thought they were needed.

"Would you like anything else?"

"Such as?"

Kusakabe faltered. There had been rumors flying around like Hibird about the Tenth and his late leader. "I don't know…maybe more information…?"

"Not right now. I'll ask if I want something." Sensing the need to flee, Kusakabe bowed respectively and turned. He didn't know why, but it suddenly felt as if he had witnessed something he shouldn't have, a faint spark of emotion perhaps? But Tsuna's face had been unchanged as it had been when he first entered. Never mind.

After the Mafioso with the perfectly coiffed hair left, Tsuna pulled out the black ring from his pocket. Glittering in the sun from the window behind him, it matched an identical black ring on Tsuna's finger, next to the Sky ring. An engagement ring of sorts.

Wordlessly, the black ring joined its twin on Tsuna's right ring finger.

--

The Mafia ran on a tight schedule so the funeral was scheduled days after the body was recovered, no time for proper mourning before business came back as usual. Basil stood at the door of the Vongola base to welcome the guests for the funeral the next morning.

Ryohei came first, solemn yet extreme, with Hana. The Mafia ran on secrets as well, Basil noted, as the two were noticeably dating but no official word had been released. Kyoko came with her brother and sister as well, looking grief-stricken. She gave Tsuna a long hug, as if Hibari had been their late child. Basil wondered if Kyoko would get over the fact that Tsuna had picked Hibari over her, but he figured in the long run it wouldn't matter. Kyoko was a pacifist and had accepted the fact with grace.

Chrome came later, dressed in proper black mourning gear, looking skinny and pretty as a button. It had been a time since she had separated herself from Mukuro, forming two different entities. Wearing a black veil over her face, she smiled cordially at Basil at the door before going forward to hug Tsuna as well.

The Tenth Vongola Boss was quite loved, Basil mused. He was just an apprentice that would always be second-hand. Appreciated yet overlooked.

"Those were all who were invited." Reborn appeared at Basil's side, his fifteen year old self totting the trademark pistol. He was always indifferent as a baby, but as a teenager he had an apathetic expression hidden behind a crush of bangs under a Fedora, where Leon still rode happily. Lambo stood a distance away. The two were 'rivals', although Lambo was constantly getting confused with the fine line between love and hate. Reborn was, of course, uninterested.

Counting each Guardian off with his fingers, Basil frowned. Hibari wouldn't have wanted a long, big crowd at his funeral (after all, he hadn't liked them alive), so Tsuna had planned a small, short funeral comprised of all the Guardians and one guest. "But we're missing one…"

Reborn shook his head, slow and deliberate. "You forget, Basil-kun. Chrome-san is the Mist Guardian, not Mukuro."

Basil nodded, although not completely comprehended. Mukuro had given Chrome her powers as an illusionist, so he still had part as the Guardian, right? He was a rare face in the base, as he had always harbored a hatred toward the Mafia and the Vongola family. Still…

Everyone was getting situated when Gianni noticed that there was a visitor who was practically smashing in the west door just to get inside. Everyone had gotten up to face this threat when Reborn just took a sip from the sake cup (ignoring that he was still underage) and waved his hand at Basil. "Basil, clean up the mess."

"Yes, Reborn-sama."

He didn't mind being the one to mop up after everyone else. Someone in the mafia had to do that. He didn't mind being part of the defense and operating in the shadows. There was always someone needed to do the dirty work behind the scenes and he didn't really mind. Of course, that meant that his work was rarely acknowledged and everyone loved the heroes, whose work was publically known.

When Basil arrived at the west entrance, the door had already been smashed and a cloud of dust was just starting to settle. Covering his nose and mouth with a sleeve, Basil gripped the boomerblade, ready for battle, but it was completely unnecessary.

"The other Flame brat." Surprised at the name, Basil lowered his arm voluntarily and noticed the intruder, standing looking bored.

"Mukuro-sama."

--

Sometimes if he drank enough rum, he could trick his mind to become fuzzy. When the shots of liquor reached count in the teens, he could feel the warm feeling that if he stopped thinking, he could pretend Hibari was still there. No one could have ever assumed that Dame Tsuna could turn out to put away so much. Granted, he hid the bottles of exotic scotch in a place only he knew about – if Gokudera or Reborn found them, he could probably kiss him goodbye.

The room was becoming blurry and if he squinted right, perhaps the darkness in front of him hid the form of Hibari. Maybe if he put down another shot or two, Hibari wouldn't be dead. Sometimes if he touched himself in the right spots, he could recreate the feeling he had with Hibari and…

And in the night, with no one watching or waiting, he could finally cry in peace.

--

All nighters in the mafia were completely normal. Basil had been put on filing duty and he had just come from Tsuna's office to collect a few files the boss still had. He had found the Vongola Tenth in the darkness, surrounded by liquor bottles and tears that had hardly enough time to dry before the alcohol kicked in and knocked him out. Grabbing the files and feeling a strange lump in his throat, Basil scurried out of there and into the library where all the important documents were placed.

Basil had been on filing duty enough times to find his way in the dark, but there was still a soft glow of light in the dark northwest corner. Peeking around to see if Chrome was reading some of her romance novels, Basil was surprised to see Gokudera scanning a map of the surface and Yamamoto hovering over him uncertainly.

"Where did you say the last string of the Millefore was?"

"Around Funbari…"

"Here?"

Gokudera reached out his hand to point to a certain area as Yamamoto leaned down to point out the spot himself. Their hands collided and the two leapt apart, shocked. Rustling the map loudly to drown out the embarrassment, Gokudera started clearing the table. "It's getting late, we should get some sleep for tomorrow…"

"Gokudera."

Fatigue must have gotten into the bomber, or he had just resigned to the fact that the two were alone (save Basil, still hiding in the shadows) and turned to face Yamamoto. "We established this already. We can't do this anymore, baseball freak. We had our kicks back then, but this isn't a game anymore and…"

"Just this once. Once, Gokudera." Before Gokudera could retort, Yamamoto sealed the space between their lips and Basil scampered off to give the two some privacy. They deserved a rare moment for themselves. It always seemed that he was always escaping from scandalous moments. Would it ever be his turn to know how it felt? He was just an apprentice, a background character, filler…

Hibari was dead and Tsuna was in mourning.

Collapsing on the far side of the southeast wall, Basil let the files in his arms flutter to the floor as he let himself cry. He didn't know why. He hadn't been that close to Hibari after all. It was just all this angst! Tsuna! Gokudera! Everyone! Couldn't he just have a little pity party just this once?!

"Pepper?"

Basil blinked through his damp eyes and looked up. Mukuro had just materialized next to him, looking surprised. "Why are you crying, Pepper? Don't you know you're in the mafia?"

"My name's Basil, and…" He was about to go into denial, but hell, could you trick someone who excelled in tricking others? "Do you know how it feels?"

"For what? Losing that violent biting guy?" Mukuro cocked his head when Basil didn't reply. "What?"

Basil gestured his hands, wondering if there was a way to word his question without sounding outwardly feminine. "Everyone involved with someone else always seems to end badly, did you notice? No one can be with anyone in the mafia. Why is that? Why can't they just be happy?"

He was babbling and he wasn't even making sense anymore. Dropping his hands, Basil sighed. "Does it mean that relationships are useless?"

"Do you want to be in one?"

"No."

"Hmm." Mukuro bent down to examine the other's face. "That's not what your face is saying." Unexpectedly, he leaned forward and kissed Basil, putting the oomph in oomph.

Quickly regaining his senses, Basil shoved Mukuro away, surprising the Mist Guardian temporarily. "What did you do that for?" Barely containing his voice, Basil attempted to glare at the other man but only radiated confusion.

Mukuro cocked his head. "I thought you'd like it. Maybe I was wrong…?"

And like the very mist, he disappeared, leaving Basil (quite literally) in the dark.

--

The air was fresh and the breeze was nice and there were actually birds chirping (nicely ironic) when Hibari Kyouya's coffin was lowered six feet under. There were no tears shed, as expected, and the dead prefect's parents' hadn't even been notified. It was for the better; losses in the mafia weren't supposed to be widespread, to proclaim the setbacks of said family. The fresh dirt smelled sweet in the air, along with the sickly strong aroma of incense and bright florals. Hibird had even attended for the occasion, silent as the grave. It flew away after the mound of dirt was finished and to this day hasn't been seen by any of the Vongola.

After the grave diggers took their leave in silence, the rest of the Vongola family stood around the grave solemnly. There hadn't been a eulogy, ceremony, or even music. The breeze provided the only sound in the green, green terrain and Yamamoto cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um…Tsuna…would you like to have some time alone? I mean, because you are the head…" Yamamoto's quick change of intention made the whole deal painfully obvious but Tsuna smiled at the curtsey.

"Yes, I would. Thank you, Yamamoto."

Slowly clearing off, scattering among the other tombstones and flowers, the small pack of remaining Vongola dispersed to let Tsuna have time alone. Gokudera lingered, watching Tsuna worriedly but finally trailing off.

Having his familia around him made him feel strange talking to Hibari intimately, but without them, it started feeling lonely. Biting his lip to distract himself, Tsuna played with the black rings on his finger.

"Hibari-san." Tsuna let a bitter smile cross his face briefly. "You were never there, were you?" Well, that wasn't all true. When Reborn died the first time, Hibari was there to comfort him. When the Millefore first announced the war, Hibari was there to help him get on track. Perhaps back then, their relationship was still platonic. Maybe it had always been; after all, Hibari would never dare depend on anyone else.

Or maybe Hibari wasn't the dependant one after all. Maybe it had been him all along.

There was no point trying to find Hibari's killer; extracting revenge wasn't going to bring him back, as Tsuna had learned through his lessons with Reborn. Besides, he had heard from Kusakabe that the group that had lured Hibari out was sustaining multiple attacks from other allies of the Vongola. An eye for an eye. Exactly like how Hibari would have wanted it.

If it killed him, he would not succumb to mere girliness and break down in tears. He was the Vongola Mafia Boss and he had to be strong for everyone. He had learned to hide his emotions rather well, he thought. Still, he couldn't help but ask the rhetorical question that was just a waste of breath. "Why did you have to go so soon?" As the last syllable left his lips, Tsuna tried to bite it back. Silly questions like that had gotten him many bites when they were younger. Old habits die hard.

The aroma of the incense was getting nauseating and Tsuna felt his head become woozy again. Before he had a chance to do anything stupid again (after all, this was Hibari's grave they were talking about), he nodded shortly before turning to meet up with his family again.

--

It was quite irritating that now a mere touch could send him sidling up to Mukuro like a shameless hooker. Just because they kissed once didn't mean anything had to come of it…of course, tell that to his body, which seemed to have a mind of its own. Oh wait, it did.

"You're so cute, Basil-chan."

Honestly, didn't Mukuro know it was demeaning to call another man 'cute'? But he supposed these were different circumstances.

--

Back to business as usual…of course, replacements are vital to the mafia. The Cloud Ring needed a new owner and the Vongola needed a Cloud Guardian to protect the whole individually. Gokudera had a 'right' (as he claimed) to watch the potential mafioso.

Although sometimes even the bomber was awed, Tsuna was never impressed. Perhaps it was a human's condition to reject change. A new face would surely be a refreshing part of the Vongola base. Although maybe hiring a purple afroed albino wasn't the best choice.

"Tenth, we still have five tryouts before three…"

"Cancel them. I'm sick of this."

Gokudera bit his tongue to stop from saying something insensitive. "But Tenth, you know…"

"I do. I don't like any of them." Tsuna sighed and for the first time in twenty-five years, he looked genuinely tired. "I'm thinking of making Mukuro the Cloud Guardian."

"Mukuro?"

"Yes. Technically, Chrome is the Mist Guardian and Mukuro is making himself at home at the moment. Why not make him contribute once in a while?"

Gokudera nodded stiffly. It wasn't in his nature to disagree with the Tenth although he had his doubts about Mukuro. Call it a childish grudge, but he was still sketchy about the illusionist. "Have you heard about Mukuro and Basil? They say…"

"I'm not interested in the gossip the girls share in the kitchen," Tsuna said sharply. Gokudera drew back with a respectful nod. The reaction was expected, he guessed; after all, the Tenth himself had been the victim of such gossip before. "Of course not."

"Make sure the recruits stay silent about the Cloud Guardian opening."

"Of course."

--

"You puny little Vongola boss's asked me to be the Cloud Guardian."

"Is that so."

"Yep. And he seemed really sour about it. It's not like I want to be that biting freak's replacement anyway."

"Mmm…"

"Why don't you show a bit more interest in this, Basil-chan?"

"Don't call me that. And it's hard to show interest in that when I'm in such a compromising position like this."

--

_Well…it _had_ been a flawless plan._

_But of course, leave it to Dame Tsuna to ruin it all and nearly get himself killed. It had been a close call; if Gokudera hadn't been there to divert the enemies' attention with a bomb and Yamamoto hadn't smuggled him out, Tsuna had a feeling he'd be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. _

_He had reached the Vongola base still trembling. Dismissing Gokudera and Yamamoto, he went to the office, where Hibari was already waiting._

"_I heard about what happened."_

_Tsuna weighed his options. Face Hibari and risk being permanently deformed. Or, he could just open the door again and bolt. Probably not the second option, as he suspected that Hibari could probably reach him before he could even turn the knob._

"_Yeah, well, I'm okay now."_

"_You could have been killed."_

_Tsuna blinked. That had happened only less than an hour ago and Hibari had gotten wind of it so soon? Not to mention, the busy Cloud Guardian had dropped what he had been doing and came to the Vongola base to check on him? Very unlike him. This surprise lowered Tsuna's guard, who instantly regretted it when Hibari gripped him with a cold expression. _

"_You could have been killed."_

_Before Tsuna could point out that he had already said that, Hibari bit down hard on his neck. Tsuna cringed; yes, he suspected it – Hibari was a vampire. As the pain faded away to numbness, Tsuna gripped Hibari's shoulders. "Hibari-san, please get off me."_

_Tsuna was surprised when Hibari released his hold on him. "Sometimes," he heard his scary senpai murmur, "I wish I could bite on to you and never let go."_

_Tsuna blinked. Death could bring out even the strangest of them all. He supposed in other circumstances, Hibari would have killed him single-handedly, but Tsuna decided the tables had turned as he wrapped his arms around the taller's neck. There was a need for bodily contact; after all, he had nearly died…_

--

"I've decided to accept your Cloud Guardian proposition."

Tsuna looked up from the documents in his hands. Yes, he had granted Mukuro audience, with Basil included somehow, but it didn't mean he had to look at him. Now that the navy haired illusionist had stated his purpose, Tsuna could be interested.

"And something else; Basil and I…"

Tsuna stared at them. They weren't acting in any way that suggested otherwise, but their hands, their pinkies could be considered to be the faintest of touching. They had matching apathetic expressions but carried themselves differently somehow…Tsuna lowered his eyes to the rug they were standing on and a flitting shadow of a smile appeared on his face.

"You two don't need me to tell you what could happen."

"No."

What _could_ he say? He wasn't going to forbid them from seeing each other; after all, then he'd just be a hypocrite and look what happened to Yamamoto and Gokudera. And he had a feeling Mukuro wouldn't listen to him anyway. It was just a pleasant surprise.

He wasn't sure if he liked surprises, but he was sure he could let this one slide, perhaps.

They left before he could say anything else. Not that there was anything left to say, really. Tsuna closed the binder the documents were in and leaned back in the leather chair. Another ring glittered on his hand, a new addition although it hadn't been a new ring; it looked at home with the Sky Ring and the black rings, the Claddagh…

He supposed he did still have his memories.

Life goes on.

Owari

--

Note: This took SOO long to write!!! I had the idea weeks ago and I finally finished it! AAAG! Not to mention, I can't believe I killed off Hibari! What is that? Out of all of them, Hibari is the least likely to die from a stray bullet. So that part was highly unrealistic. Not to mention my favorite crack pairing. God, how I love 6984. Is this a sequel to Claddagh question mark? Hmm…gets your brains thinking. I got a Claddagh over the weekend…my maman gave it to me. Thanks maman. Review.


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